Harrison lax staves off Stepinac

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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Harrison's 2012 boys lacrosse season started off with fireworks on Thursday afternoon.

The Huskies (1-0) charged out to a 6-0 first-quarter lead on host Stepinac (0-2) and then hung on over the final three quarters to score a narrow 10-9 victory.

Jake Marino was the standout for Harrison with four goals and three assists.

“We ran really hard all game,” Marino said “We only have like six guys on our sideline, so we have to keep working out and training so we can make sure that we stay in condition.”

Harrison dominated the first quarter on both sides of the field. The Huskies relied on crisp passing and ball control in order to deny Stepinac's attack and wear out its defense.

When Marino scored his second goal of the game to make it 6-0 with under a minute to go in the first, it seemed as if the game had already been put out of reach.

But Stepinac was not to be denied and, over the next thirty minutes, it outscored Harrison 8-2 as Spencer O’Toole (four goals) and Nick Shaw (three goals) led the Crusaders all the way back to tie the game at 8-8. Goalie Bobby DiNapoli (22 saves) kept his team close with several point-blank saves.

The Crusaders were never able to take the lead, however, as Marino came through again when he was needed most. The speedy sophomore setup a goal to make it 9-8 and then went the length of the field on his own to bury the eventual game winner.

With a staggering 10 sophomores among the 18-man roster, Harrison has a very young squad. As a result, lapses like today's are sure to happen. Still, it's easy to see they have firepower to spare and the resiliency to weather a storm and win a close game.

“This team, they’re all lacrosse players and they’re relentless out here,” Harrison coach Jay Rabinowitz said. “They give me everything they’ve got. They’d want to practice right now if they could. That’s the kind of team we’ve got and that’s going to pay dividends in the long run.”

Harrison will travel to Clarkstown South for its next game on March 31, while Stepinac will face Pearl River on April 3.